News in Brief

James V. Meath, a partner in the Richmond office of Williams Mullen, was elected chairman by the firm’s board of directors yesterday. He succeeds Julious P. Smith Jr., who has become chairman emeritus. Meath served as chair of the Williams ...

Legislation is making its way through the General Assembly to make it easier for developers to fight local governments that seek to extract cash proffers before completion of new construction projects. It’s the latest development in a debate over the ...

The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has turned back the habeas bid of former Carolina Panther wide receiver Rae Carruth who is serving time for orchestrating the 1999 murder of his girlfriend. Carruth argued his conviction was tainted by ...

The U.S. Supreme Court case of Melendez-Diaz v. Massachusetts was one of the bigger criminal cases of the previous decade in establishing that laboratory experts generally must testify in person rather than by affidavit. But what happened to Luis Melendez-Diaz, ...

There will be no legislation this year to realign the state’s judicial circuits and districts. But Bill Janis, R-Henrico, the patron of HB 1990, said he believes that he and Sen. John S. Edwards, D-Roanoke, “got the ball rolling” to ...

A Virginia criminal case has become the focus of a national debate over the reliability of scientific evidence about shaken baby syndrome. A Court of Appeals panel this week will consider whether to hear an appeal based in part on ...

Forget internet invasions of the jury’s inner sanctum. Jurors in North Carolina went old school. During a break in deliberations over murder charges against a drunken driver who went the wrong way down an exit ramp after a Super Bowl ...

A Fairfax Circuit Court says the “public duty” doctrine does not extend to firefighters, to protect them from a gross negligence lawsuit filed by the sons of a woman who died in a townhouse fire. The suit filed by the ...

A federal judge has denied a motion to dismiss civil claims against a police officer involved in a Saltville incident that started with a speeding ticket and ended with a whole family going to jail. U.S. District Judge James P. ...

Del. Bill Janis, R-Henrico, appears to be looking out for a constituent and Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli is helping him out. Janis asked Cuccinelli for an official opinion on whether credit card agreements governed by Virginia law are written contracts ...